It’s “dark-thirty,” as the local cattle ranchers like to say, with a full moon rising over the prairie. Just across the road from a little town, the mama cows and their calves are already bedded down on the lush Kentucky bluegrass. Nothing much is happening… yet. But if you look closely, on the far side of the pasture, you’ll see them–coyotes, faintly silhouetted against the tree line. They arrive, one by one, reunited after a long day’s hunt, their silver-gray bodies reflecting the moonlight.
They sit back on their haunches in a loosely formed circle, watching and waiting for the alpha to begin. The large male throws his head back and begins to yip-howl with all his might. The whole pack joins in territorial celebration. From the sounds of it, you’d think there were a dozen or more of them, but there’s only half that many. It’s a bluff, to keep unwelcome coyotes away. “Stay out of our tree line.”
From a dry creek bed, a half mile away, a rival pack answers, “This is our territory,” they yip. “Keep off our creek.”
A half mile in the other direction, there’s a not so quiet cul-de-sac, lined with a half-dozen cookie cutter houses. In one backyard, a dad lounges poolside, nursing a longneck while blasting Country music.
The neighbor on the other side of a tall privacy fence isn’t entertained. It’s family cookout night, and he doesn’t like “hillbilly” music. Challenge accepted. He cranks up Frank Sinatra. “Keep it on your side of the fence.” he growls.
It’s an odd mix: “Old Blue Eyes” battling it out with “Bochephus” accompanied by prairie wolves in stereo.
Beer guy blinks first, turning down Hank Junior’s A Country Boy Can Survive. The guy on the grill grins and dials back the volume–returning to “chill” mode. Nobody sings Mack the Knife like Sinatra. Nobody.
Close by, the tree line coyotes keep going: yipping and howling into the eerie night. They need to dissuade the larger creek bed pack. There’s no lounging poolside on the unforgiving prairie.
Kind reader, this isn’t my usual fare. I hope you don’t mind.
Thank you for reading. 🙏❤️ prayers and love.
The Stigma Stops Here.🛑
#mentalhealthmatters
Davids Daily Dose 
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